Printing-machine.



PATENTED DEG. 17, 1907,

' w. SPALGKHAVBR.

PRINTING MACHINE.

LPPLIUATIOI IILIBD FEB-7,1905.

4 EHBETS-SHBET 1. I

'No. 873,909. PATBNTED DEC. 17, 1907.

'w. SPALGKHAVER.

PRINTING MACHINE. v urmoulox -11mm ran. '1. 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTBD'DEG. 17, 1907.

,. I I w. SPALGKHAVER.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIOK FILED IEB.7,'1905. v

' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

PATENTBD 1150.17, 1907.

' w. SPALGKHAVER.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-'1; 1905 sums-sum 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM SPALGKHAVER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ROBERT HOE, OF

NEW YORK, N. Y.

PRINTING-MACHIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1907.

Application filed February 7. 1905- Serial No. 244.579.

There is, at present, a demand in the trade for printing machines which are capacitated to produce products which vary in the number of sheets which go to make up the products, and also vary in the character of the printing, that is to say, as to whether the products shall be printed entirely in black or a part of the sheets which go to make up the products shall be printed in one or more colors. Thus, in some cases, a publisher may desire to produce a product having a great number of sheets and in which the outside and inside sheets may be printed in a number of colors, the other sheets being printed in black, and at the same time may desire to use the same machine for rinting products having lesser numbers of sheets printedeither all in black or with part of the sheets printed in various combinations of colors, or products in which all the sheets are printed in black.

The object of this invention is to produce an improved printing machine capacitated to produce products varying widely as to the number of sheets and as to the kind or style of printing.

With this and otherobjects not specifically referred to in view, the invention consists in certain constructions, and in certain parts, improvements and combinations as will be hereinafter fully described and pointed out.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 represents diagrammatically a printing machine forming one embodiment of the invention, the machine being arranged to produce a product printed entirely in black. Fig. 2 represents the same machine arranged to produce products printed partly in black and partly in colors, and Fig. 3 represents the machine running as two independent machines producing products printed partly in colors and partly in black, and Fig. 4 represents the same machine running as two independent machines and producing products printed entirely in black.

The machine which has been selected to illustrate the invention is a machine which may be termed a double octuple machine when its greatestcapacity isconsidered, that is to say, the couples are so arranged that the machine will print from eight double Wlide rolls. While the number of couples and decks may be varied, in the particular construction shown the machine is provided with eight decks of couples, four-decks being superposed and arranged on one side of the machine and the other four decks are superposed and arranged on the otherside of the machine.

In the drawings, and referring to thedecks on the right hand side of the machine, the upper deck comprises a pair of printing couples, the printing cylinder of one of the couples being marked 1- and the impression 'cyl-' inder 2, the impression cylinder of the other couple, being marked 3 and its printing cylinder 4. inking mechanisms 5 and 6 of any usual or desired type will be used in connec- 'tion with the couples of this deck, and a Web roll mounted in supports 7 is illustrated for supplying the web to these couples. This deck, as-shown, operates in the usual manner to print and perfect a web. The-deck below the deck just described is a duplicate of it, said deck consisting of a printing couple, the impression cylinder of which is marked 8 and the printing cylinder 9, and a perfecting couple, the impression cylinder of which is marked 10 and the printing cylinder 11. This deck has inking mechanisms 12 and 13 of any usual t pe for cooperating therewith and supplied by Web roll mounted in supports 14. The printing cylinders of the couples of the next deck, in the particular machine illustrated, are marked 15 and 18, the impression cylinders 16 and 17 and the inkingmechanisms 19 and 20. The web roll for supplying this deck is mounted in supports 1.

The lowest deck may be varied considerably as to the character and composition of the couples, but, in the particular machine illustrated, includes a couple having a reversible printin cylinder. This cylinder is marked 22, and in the particular construc tion shown, there are provided two impression cylinders 23 24, one of said cylinders cooperating with the printing cylinder when.

the cylinder is running in one direction and the other impression cylinder cooperating with it when the cylinder is running in the opposite direction. In the particular construction shown, two couples, the printing cylinders of which are marked 25 and 27 and the impression cylinders 26 and 28, make up the remainder of this deck of couples, although one of these couples might be omitted, if desired. The webroll supplying web to this deck of couples is mounted in supports 29. I

The decks so far described make up what may be termed a set of decks and the machine has a similar set of decks arranged on the other side. Inasmuch as the construction and arrangement of the first set of decks is duplicated at the other end of the machine, a specific description ofthese couples will not be given, the corresponding parts of corresponding couples being marked, however, with the same reference characters primed.

In the space between the two sets of decks, two sets of folding mechanisms 30 and 31 are arranged, these consisting of the ordinary lon itudinal folders, the folder of one set of dec is being arranged, however, back to back, with respect to the folder of the other set of decks, as shown. Where double wide rolls are used, each folder will consist of two folding mechanisms.

In accordance with the invention a part of the decks on each side of the machine will be used for printing in black and the remainder of the decks on each side of the machine will be used for printing either in black or in colors, as the occasion may require. In the particular machine illustrated, the two upper decks on each side of the machine are intended to be used for printing in black alone while the two remaining decks on each side of the machine may be used either to print in black or in colors. In the particular machine illustrated, oifset devices are provided, these ofiset devices consisting of offset web rolls mounted in supports 32 and 32 which,

in the particular construction shown, are mounted in line with the other web roll supports, and the usual devices for unwinding and re-winding the offset web. The'usual web guides 33, which it is not necessary to describe in detail, will be employed to control the webs and give them their direction through the machine and into the folder or folders. :The particular machine illustrated may be used in various ways, according to the particular products it is desired to produce, and the drawings illustrate some of the principal methods of operating the machine.

In Fig. 1, the machine is shown as arranged to print aproduct from all the webs and entirely in black. In this arrangement,

the web from all the web rolls is led straight through the couples and to one of the folders, as, for instance, the folder 31. With this ar- 18 and to the folder 31.

m ot

rangement, the couples 27, 28, and 27, 28on each side of the machine will be cut out and the printing cylinders 22, 22 of the lower decks will cooperate with the impression cylinders 23, 23 respectively. With this arrangement, the offset web is without function and will, therefore, not be used. The arrangement shown in Fig. 1 will produce thirty-two page products without the use of collecting cylinders.

Fig. 4 shows the machine arranged to run as two independent machines, the webs on the right hand end of the machine being directed to the folder 30 on that side and the webs on the left hand side of the machine being directed to the folder 30 on that side. Arranged as shown in this figure, each side of the machine will produce sixteen page products printed wholly in black without the use of collecting cylinders.

Fig. 2. shows the machine running as a color machine. In this arrangement, the webs from the two upper decks on each side of the machine are led straight through the machine and to one of the folders, as for instance the folder 31. The lower web roll on each side of the machine is cut out. The web from the web roll 21 is led through the couples 15, 16, 22, 24, then through the couples 25, 26, 27, 28, through the couple 17, The web from the roll 21 is given a similar lead. With this arrangement, the offset web, marked 0, when such a web is employed, is given the lead indicated through the various couples, so that it is running with the web as the colors are being printed upon it. With this arrangement, twenty-four page products will be produced, the outer pages being perfected in black and three colors, and the inner pages being printed in black and perfected in black and three colors. In this arrangement, it will be seen that the direction of the reversible printing cylinders 22, 22 has been changed and that they cooperate with the impression cylinders 24, 24, the impression cylinders 23, 23 being cut out.

Fig. 3 shows the machine running as two independent machines, each side producing a colored product. The lead of the webs on each side of the machine is the same as in the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 2, but the webs from the decks on both sides, instead of being led to a single folder, are led to the folder belonging to that deck. With this arrangement, the decks on each side of the machine will produce twelve page products, the outside sheets being in colors. Other combinations are, of course, possible, and it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art how theycan be made.

Changes and variations may be made in the construction by which the invention is carried into effect. The invention is not, therefore, to be limited to the particular construction and arrangements of printing machines hereinbefore described.

What is claimed is In a printing machine, the combination of a deck of couples arranged on one side of the machine, said deck including a couple having a reversible printing cylinder and two impression cylinders, one of said impression cylinders cooperating with the printing cylinder when the cylinder is running in one direction, and the other of said impression cylinders cooperating with it when the cylinder is running in the opposite direction, a plurality of independent couples in said deck one of which may cooperate with said reversible printing cylinder couple to perfect a web and all of which may cooperate therewith to print in colors, a web roll support for said deck, three decks each comprising printing and perfecting couples and Web roll supports for said couples said decks being superposed, and all the decks forming a set, an offset web roll support, a similar set of decks and an offset web roll support on the opposite side of the machine, folders arranged back to back between the sets of decks, guides whereby the reversible couple deck of each set and the deck next it may be caused to act either as a combined color deck or as perfecting decks, guides whereby when all the decks of each set are acting as perfecting decks or partly as perfecting and partly as color decks the webs from both sets of decks may be led to one folder or the Webs from each set may be led to the folder of that set, and guides for leading the offset webs through the reversible color deck and their cooperating decks when said decks are operating as color decks.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM SPALOKHAVER. Witnesses:

F. W. H. CRANE, LoUIs ROEHM. 

